Wednesday Lineup Card: A New Yelich to Scratch

Adam began writing for RotoWire in the spring of 2012 as an undergrad student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He primarily serves as the site's day-to-day editor of NHL content, while also working as the Chicago Bears and Colorado Rockies beat writer, managing the site's Closer Grid, and contributing to the football and baseball magazines.

Day-To-DayBrandon Barnes, OF, HOU (calf) – Left Tuesday’s game with mild left calf strain.Miguel Cabrera, 3B, DET (hip) – Out of the lineup Tuesday.Yoenis Cespedes, OF, OAK (wrist) – May return to Athletics’ lineup Wednesday.Carlos Gomez, OF, MIL (elbow) – Returned to the lineup Tuesday against the Padres.Josh Hamilton, OF, LAA (ankle) – Remained out of the lineup Tuesday but not expected to miss more than a few more days.Donovan Hand, SP, MIL (hand) – Left Tuesday’s game with right hand contusion.Matt Kemp, OF, LAD (ankle) – Dodgers will not make a decision on whether or not he’ll require a DL stint until Wednesday.Corey Kluber, SP, CLE (hip) – Threw bullpen session Tuesday with no issues and remains in line to start Friday.Joe Mauer, C, MIN (personal) – Scratched from Tuesday’s game to be with his wife for the birth of the couple’s twins.Wil Myers, OF, TB (wrist) – Returned to the lineup Tuesday.

Disabled ListBrett Anderson, SP, OAK (foot) – Will approach 50 pitches during a bullpen session Wednesday.Lance Berkman, 1B, TEX (hip) – Took batting practice on the field Monday.Clay Buchholz, SP, BOS (shoulder) – Hopeful that he’ll be able to take the mound four or five times before end of the regular season.Chris Carpenter, SP, STL (shoulder) – Put his rehab assignment on hold due to lingering soreness in his right hand.Francisco Cervelli, C, NYY (elbow) – Performed defensive drills Monday but not yet hitting.Alex Cobb, SP, TB (head) – Removed from Tuesday’s rehab start at High-A Port Charlotte due to a blister on his right finger but setback is considered minor.
Travis d’Arnaud, C, NYM (foot) – Cleared by Mets’ team doctors Monday to begin playing in minor league games.Ross Detwiler, SP, WAS (back) – Will see a specialist later this week.Lucas Duda, OF, NYM (oblique) – Team hopes he can begin rehab games this week.Curtis Granderson, OF, NYY (finger) – Took three at-bats in a simulated game Monday.Jason Grilli, RP, PIT (forearm) – Hoping that rest will improve his injury, with Pirates announcer Greg Brown speculating Grilli may not return until September if there’s any sort of ligament damage.Colby Lewis, SP, TEX (forearm) – Allowed five hits and two walks over three innings in his latest rehab start with Double-A Frisco.Jenrry Mejia, SP, NYM (forearm) – Will start the first game of Friday’s doubleheader after successful rehab assignment.Roy Oswalt, SP, COL (hamstring) – Says he’s ahead of schedule in rehab and hopes to throw a bullpen session before the weekend closes.Nolan Reimold, OF, BAL (neck) – Underwent successful surgery Tuesday to fuse two vertebrae in his neck.Jason Vargas, SP, LAA (arm) – Received clearance to pitch off and was able to complete a bullpen session Tuesday.Ryan Vogelsong, SP, SF (hand) – Will pitch for Giants’ rookie-level club to begin rehab assignment Tuesday. Expected to return in early to mid-August.

Milwaukee: With Ryan Braun suspended for the rest of the season and the Brewers stuck at the bottom of the standings, the Brewers have officially gone into sell-mode, trading closer Francisco Rodriguez to the Orioles. In his stead, Jim Henderson is the early favorite to become the team’s primary closer after finding success in the role early this season. John Axford, who has thrived since moving to middle relief after being deposed as closer in the season’s first month, could slide back into his old role at some point if Henderson should struggle.

Pittsburgh: It appears the forearm discomfort that prompted Jason Grilli’s removal from Monday’s game will sideline him indefinitely after the Pirates moved to place him on the DL. He told Pirates announcer on Tuesday that he’s “gonna need a lot of rest,” with Brown speculating that Grilli may not be able to return until September in a best-case scenario. While it’s still too early to say that definitively until Grilli gets examined more closely, it would be wise to go out and pick up Mark Melancon right away. Although Grilli’s dominance in the closer’s role has rightfully received much attention, Melancon has been equally impressive with a 0.97 ERA, 0.82 WHIP, 47:6 strikeout-to-walk rate over 46.1 innings. He has previous closing experience with the Astros in 2011 and would present a highly useful alternative to Grilli in what has been one of the more productive closing situations in the majors this season.

Seattle:Tom Wilhelmsen recorded a scoreless ninth inning Monday to preserve a 2-1 win over the Indians, notching his 22nd save of the season. Although manager Eric Wedge hasn’t explicitly stated that Wilhelmsen is back at closer for good, it can be inferred after he’s been called upon and successfully converted the last four save opportunities that have come available for the Mariners. Even so, because of a dramatic dip in his strikeout rate and huge surge in his walk rate this season, Wilhelmsen remains a less-than-trustworthy closing option. If he should suffer another mishap or two in closing situations, Wilhelmsen could soon find himself competing for the role once again.

Christian Yelich, OF, MIA – The Marlins made a splash Tuesday by promoting top outfield prospects Yelich and Jake Marisnick, and while the toolsy Marisnick could have an immediate impact, it’s Yelich that has the greater cachet as a prospect. Ranked as the No. 10 prospect in the minors two weeks ago by our own Jesse Siegel and Nick Shlain in their latest Top 200, Yelich destroy High-A pitching last season and though he’s been slowed by injuries in 2013, he’s cobbled together a .280/.365/.518 line at Double-A Jacksonville. Yelich has developing power and has shown the ability to steal a base, and Shlain believes he can hit against major league pitching right away. He’s probably only an NL-only and deep mixed league option until we see how he performs, but he could very well merit keeper consideration by the end of the season as a 21-year-old with an extremely bright future.

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